By Sophie Mbugua
SESIMWANI, Kenya – Birds
sing, feet shuffle, as women and men of all ages emerge from spreading canopies
of green.
Dressed in gumboots and
carrying umbrellas, they hurry towards the Olodomut Nursery School in Sesimwani
village, in Kenya’s Mau Forest. The community land mobiliser has called a
meeting for the entire Ogiek community to discuss its by-laws.
The Ogiek, a hunting and
gathering community, have been living in the Mau Forest complex – Kenya’s
largest block of forest cover, at the centre of the Rift Valley province – for
decades.
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| A woman fetching firewood in Mau Forest, Kenya.PHOTO/Sophie Mbugua |
“The forest is very
important for our community,” said Veronica Ngusilwa, one of the school’s
teachers. “We collect wild fruit, firewood and use particular trees and shrubs
for medication.”
The Ogiek, however, have
lacked recognition since colonial times, leading to their political, social and
economic marginalisation, according to Daniel Kobei, executive director of the
Ogiek Peoples’ Development Programme (OPDP).
The Mau Forest lost great
chunks of land through excisions by the Kenyan government for agricultural and
settlement purposes, with the land now replaced with maize plantations. The UN
Environmental Programme reported the destruction of over 100,000 hectares
between 1990 and 2001 – the latest figures available.
“The government
periodically hives off large chunks of forest land, allegedly for ‘landless’
Kenyans but actually for distribution to powerful, well-connected individuals,”
said Kobei.
Securing land rights
The OPDP, supported by
the Namati Community Land Protection Programme, is training the Ogiek to map
and document their ancestral land and create by-laws that will govern them in
preparation for the passing of the 2015 Community Land Bill.
“We believe that if
the Ogiek are recognised as co-managers of the land by the government,
destruction of the Mau forest complex will be reduced significantly,” said
Kobei.
When the bill is enacted
– which is expected for August 2016 – the 67 percent of the country’s community
land will be officially registered. This will enable communities such as the
Ogiek to secure land rights and be issued with a title deed, believes Kobei.
The OPDP has been
educating the Ogiek on various legislation such as the Constitution, the
Community Land Bill and the Kenya Forest Services Act – among others – as well
as on international legislation like the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples.
The community votes on
by-laws once they have passed legal checks to ensure they abide by existing
local, national and international laws. The laws are then adopted if they reap
two-thirds of votes.
Ngusilwa hopes that the
documentation of the by-laws will strengthen the traditional values of the
Ogiek community. “The by-laws serve as a reminder of traditions, especially to
younger generations,” she said.
She also sees an
opportunity to develop by-laws safeguarding women and girls’ rights, and hopes
the community will be issued with a title deed to help them improve their
infrastructure.
For example, a bridge
over the Sigider River would shorten children’s daily walk to school, currently
standing at three kilometres.
However, Mac Odera,
assistant Ecosystem Conservator at the Kenya Forest Services in Nakuru County,
believes the Ogiek’s lifestyle is a threat to conservation and wishes they were
allocated land outside of the forest.
“They are now farming
using modern practices such as pesticides, which threatens forest recovery,” he
said.
He suggests the Ogiek
join other Community Forest Associations to help monitor illegal activities in
the forest, while living on its periphery.
Kobei, however, believes
that “allocating land outside of the forest to the Ogiek would imply the
government doesn’t want them to be part of the forest.”
“All we are asking is for
the government to give us back our home where our ancestors live, let us own it,
and we will protect it as we have always done,” he added.
Article originally published at Building
Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED).
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